


what am i supposed to do without you?

by foreverobessed



Series: till the end of the line [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin is Bucky, Angst, Brainwashing, Captain America AU, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Flashbacks, Gaslighting, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, I cant write fight scenes to save my life, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Manipulation, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Obi-Wan has a shield, Obi-Wan is Steve, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Psychological Torture, References to Depression, Sith Anakin Skywalker, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, if there’s a sequel it isn’t gonna follow any movie, most of this is the Captain America winter soldier script, sorry if characters are ooc, they still have lightsabers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:20:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28719522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreverobessed/pseuds/foreverobessed
Summary: Obi-Wan went down with the Valkyrie in 1945 to save lives - but that wasn’t the only reason he did it. He was grieving for the love of his life.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Series: till the end of the line [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105388
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	what am i supposed to do without you?

**Author's Note:**

> WELCOME TO THE 12K WINTER SOLIDER X STAR WARS AU! Sorry if this is a little hard to follow along. I love you all hope you enjoy! (Also just a little PSA this does follow a lot of the winter soldier’s script that’s like basically all of the dialogue so some characters may be OOC and I’m sorry if it’s hard to follow)

Obi-Wan knew a part of him died when Anakin fell off the train. They were so happy before, them and the Howling Commandos. The clones were a failed experiment of the SITH, they were in fact about to find the scientist that had made them. The clones were their brothers in arms, comrades, best friends, brothers. Obi-Wan and Anakin loved them, they were their brothers. 

“We got about ten seconds to get on the train or we’re bugs on a windshield.” Obi-Wan advised, gripping into the zipline. Anakin grinned at him and pulled him by the shoulder, kissing him. Obi-Wan’s hands gripped at his waist. 

“Come on you two this is just getting disgusting,” Jesse quipped, a grin on his face. Waxer and Boil nodded in agreement and Fives just grinned. The clones had no problem with their relationship, despite the fact that it’s the 40’s and the same genders being together was a big no-no.

“If we’re bugs on a windshield we better get moving bugs!” Fives said with a grin. Obi-Wan let go of Anakin and gripped onto the zip line once again, watching the train come closer. He waited until the Force said _now!_ And he grabbed onto it, sliding off.

He heard Anakin mounted they zipline behind him and so did Jesse. 

“Let us know if you die!” Fives yelled, Obi-Wan could barely hear him over the rush of the wind.

“Don't worry, I’m dead!” Anakin called back, and Obi-Wan smiled. He knew it was stupid they were in a war but it was always just going to be Anakin and him and their men against the world, or so he thought. 

He didn’t expect just minutes later to have defeated the agent trying to get to him and Anakin barely holding onto the railing, hanging out of the side of the train. Anakin’s eyes were wide but he still had that reckless gleam in it, saying that he can survive everything, but he had the underlying fear in his eyes. His eyes suddenly caught on Anakin’s golden curls and the scar on his eye and the way the winter sun reflected on his eyes and hair. 

“Hold on!” Obi-Wan said, he reached out through the Force, “Grab my hand!” Obi-Wan was barely hanging on himself and teetered over the edge. Anakin reaches with his other hand, and Anakin’s sweaty fingers grazed over Obi-Wan’s palm. He had carried Anakin before and he would do it again if he had to. Suddenly Anakin’s hand on the railing slipped and so did Anakin’s fingers.

Obi-Wan screamed as Anakin fell, limbs splayed as his hand was still reaching up towards him, as if he could catch him. Obi-Wan felt tears burn down his cheeks as he crawled back inside the train. Jesse walked into the compartment with the scientist and his eyes darted around for Anakin.

“T-The.. where’s Anakin?”

Obi-Wan’s blank expression told him everything. 

—

After that Obi-Wan was brutal on missions. It wasn’t the same without Anakin, he still loved his men and would die for them but.. he just wasn’t there. A piece of them went down with Anakin when he fell off the train. He had tried to drink his sorrows away but it didn’t work. Anakin’s death became more prevalent. _Not good enough, not good enough, not good enough,_ his mind murmured. 

He wished he could go back to Tatooine, where Anakin and he had met. Anakin had lived somewhere in Spain before his mom and him moved to America. He still had a bit of a Spanish accent but it wasn’t deep and it only came out when he got agitated. He wished he could go back to the apartment in Brooklyn where they lived together up till the war. They moved around apartments, Anakin worked as a mechanic and came home in motor oil and overalls. Obi-Wan was as Anakin liked to call him “a pencil pusher”. They always moved around apartments, the longest they ever lived somewhere was in the queer quarter part. They’d go to illegal gay bars and dance sometimes. Anakin never was the best dancer but they’d sway gently.

They always had to be careful coming home from the bars, or they’d get jumped. Him and Anakin weren’t weak by any means but there were always more of them then there was Anakin and Obi-Wan. Sometimes Anakin would come home with a few bruises from racist people and he wouldn’t say anything just patch him up. Obi-Wan held up his shield as he cut down a SITH operative. He slammed the shield into his head and he went down to the ground with a sick _thunk._ He missed Anakin and his smile and his cocky grin and his dark golden curls and his impulsiveness and his loyalty and his everything. He missed Anakin with everything he had. 

When he was back in the JEDI’s headquarters Siri looked at him worriedly. When he was going through files and she hovered around the doorway of his office he finally snapped, “What do you want?”

“I just.. wanted to check up on you.” Siri said lamely, walking into his office. She walked in and looked at him, holding her left elbow with her right hand. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes flickered from her to a picture on his desk. It was of him, Anakin and the Howling Commandos. 

“I know you wanna ask about how I’m doing so just out with it.” Obi-Wan practically growled. 

“Look.. you’ve been a little more aggressive with the SITH’s agents.. we need at least some to be alive. This isn’t what Anakin would have wanted-“

Obi-Wan stood up abruptly, “What do you know about Anakin? You know _nothing._ Don’t assume to know anything-“

“I know that you loved Anakin, not as a brother, but.. as lovers.” The _as I like you,_ left unsaid but he knew it. Obi-Wan thought that if Anakin wasn’t in the picture he might’ve liked her too but Anakin was. Anakin was his everything, his whole life. He loved Anakin with every fiber in his body. He would chose Anakin, no matter what happened and no matter what obstacle he had to face. 

Obi-Wan’s breath hitched, “You can’t tell-“

“I wouldn’t.” Siri said, her heels clicking against the floor of the underground base as she turned the picture around that he was looking at previously, “You two loved each other.. it’s.. how could I out you for something like that?”

When Obi-Wan was tilting the ship down towards the ice he wasn’t making a big sacrifice like everyone thought. He was selfish. He wanted to join Anakin, he could finally be dead and in peace with Anakin. The Force swirled around him in uncertainty but he ignored it. So when he put the ship down he didn’t recognize the chill of the ice or the water burning his lungs. He would be fine. He would be with Anakin. Anakin told him they would go dancing after all this was over, despite the fact that the man had two left feet. 

He blearily blinked his eyes, everything looked hazy and he could hear the radio playing of a baseball game. 

“.. and the crowd knows with one swing of his bat it’ll tie the game..”

As he opened his eyes, his eyes adjusted to the sunlight of his room. He tilted his head and saw the outside of Brooklyn.

“It’s an absolutely gorgeous day at Ebbet’s Field..”

He was alive. No, no.. he was supposed to be with Anakin. He sat up abruptly and looked for something sharp. A knife, scissors, a box cutter.. anything. 

“The Phillys have managed to tie it up..”

He was in a hospital room and a fan lazily twirled above him.

“Rieser hits third!”

Obi-Wan’s eyebrows narrowed, Rieser left in 1942 to join the war. It was all coming back to him, Anakin and him had gone to this game. Anakin had a baseball cap on and snug jeans that hugged his ass. It was a beautiful day, the sun high in the sky and only a few fluffy clouds in the sky. 

A woman came into the room but she looked off. Her hair was tied weird and her tie was wide and tied into a Windsor’s instead of a half. Her lipstick color looked like one a drag queen would wear. “Good morning General,” She greeted, and took a look at her watch, “or should I say good afternoon.”

“Where am I?” He slowly stood up from his bed and took note of his gray sweatpants and white shirt. He had on thick white socks as well. 

The woman’s brows furrowed, “You’re in a recovery room in Brooklyn.”

“Where am I really?” He threatened, taking a few menacing steps towards her. Was he in the SITH’s grasp? 

“I don’t understand,” She said, a hesitant smile on her face. Her accent was weird, he couldn’t distinguish where she was from by her accent; it was too vague. 

“The game,” He elaborated, “It’s May 1941. I know because I was there.” The woman’s smile vanished, “So I’m going to ask you again. Where am I?”

“General Kenobi, please-“

“Who are you?” He yelled, voice dangerous. He didn’t see any weapons on her. 

The door behind her suddenly burst off it’s hinges and men came in the room with black suits and heavy guns. The woman got out of the line of fire and Obi-Wan was there, with a twist of his hand the guns were out of their hands and they were against the wall. He ran out of the room, pushing some random person out of his way.

“We’ve got a code 13! All FORCE agents we have a code 13! I repeat we have a code 13-“

He ran outside the building and neon lights were blazing around him. The lights hurt his eyes and he thought he was in Time Square? Or what was once Time Square. Suddenly cars (were they cars? They certainly looked different.)

“At ease, soldier.” A man quipped as he walked outside the car(?) the door closing behind him. He had an eyepatch on and a deep scar showed through it. 

“We’re sorry about the show we thought about breaking it to you carefully.” The man didn’t seem very sorry. 

Obi-Wan wanted to yell and break things. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t dead. He wasn’t with Anakin. He wanted Anakin. Anakin and his golden skin and his hipbone that protruded slightly and the way he seemed so invincible, and pulled off ridiculous things when it seemed like it was impossible. 

“Break what?” 

“You’ve been asleep, General. For almost seventy years.”

Obi-Wan’s chest felt very heavy and his eyes and throat burned. He felt like passing out, he wasn’t with Anakin. Anakin and him would never go dancing like the blonde man said. 

“You gonna be okay?” The man seemed slightly sympathetic. 

“Yeah.. it’s just..” It was a lie but none of them knew him well enough to tell, “I had a date.”

—

His whole life was a blur after that, the attack on New York with the Avengers, and now this. He liked Ahsoka, she reminded him of Anakin in a way, but what he didn’t like was that she was a spy, and spies had too many secrets for his tastes. It was all a blur except for two moments: the Smithsonian and Mace Windu in his apartment. 

He walked into his museum with his cap hung low, and a random outfit put together. He saw pictures of himself and the Howling Commandos and Anakin. They stood in sort of a V formation with Obi-Wan at the front of the v. His lips curved slightly as he saw a picture of him and Anakin. It was old, and displayed on the wall. It was black and white and Anakin’s hand was thrown around his shoulder and his was around his waist, resting on the small of his back. It looked harmless to everyone else but Obi-Wan rubbed his thumb over the small of his back, making Anakin flush a beautiful red. The picture didn’t pick that up of course. 

He walked over to the little memoriam of Anakin. It was dated 1922-1944. Anakin was so _young._ He was twenty two and Obi-Wan was thirty two. Why did Anakin die so young and Obi-Wan still lived? 

“Anakin and Obi-Wan knew each other since childhood,” The little voice said, “They were inseparable as children and in the battle field-“

 _And in the bed sheets,_ Anakin would’ve said cheekily, _I wonder what they would’ve thought if they saw you calling me a good boy, calling me darling, sweetheart, doll. Wonder what they would’ve thought if they saw me begging for your cock._

“The Howling Commandos and some of the JEDI say they were two halves of a single warrior, they were like brothers.” The little voice said, “General Skywalker was the only one of the Howling Commandos to give his life in active duty.” 

He went to sit down in a small room with other people in it and it was an interview with Siri. She looked older, but happy, and he saw the glint of her ring. 

“General Kenobi was a very brave man,” She said, “He saved a lot of people that day, including my husband.. but I feel.. that through the end of his days after his best friend, Anakin died.” She messed with her ring a bit. He knew no one knew the truth about his and Obi-Wan’s relationship. Everyone who had was long since dead and he sure as hell wouldn’t tell anyone now. It made him happy that people were accepting now, that people could be who they were. 

His thoughts always seemed to be _Anakin, Anakin, Anakin._ He loved Anakin, he would always love Anakin. He loved him so much, and would do anything for the brilliantly reckless man. 

“I think ever since Anakin, General Skywalker, died he thought of him till his last moments. I know first hand that.. they were brothers, even though not by blood. I think Obi-Wan thought of him in his last moments.” Siri had a grim little smile. It blinked off and his eyes watered. 

Everything else was nothing to him, he did his job and focused on it and did it well until Mace Windu sat in his apartment, laying on the ground. “Don’t trust anybody.” He pressed something into his hand, a flash drive. A woman came in and said she was a FORCE agent, assigned by Windu. She was his neighbor and her name was Cerasi. She had copper hair and pale green eyes. He had tried to ask her for a cup of coffee but it felt too awkward. Plus he didn’t think he’d ever get over Anakin and his beautiful blonde curls and blue eyes. He could practically see Anakin pouting, with a jealous and sad look in his eyes. 

“Tell them I’m in pursuit.” He said, and got his lightsaber, leaving his shield behind. He broke through his window and got to the roof. The man he was chasing jumped to another roof and looked back. He had a lightsaber clipped to his belt and two guns in his hand. His eyes were painted black and it was too dark to see the man’s eyes. He had on and a mask that covered up his mouth. He noticed the gleam of the man’s hand. It seemed to end a little bit under his elbow. He held up both guns and shot both guns at it. He reflected the bullets and ran after him. The man stopped and turned around, in clipping his lightsaber and still had a gun in one hand. 

_Better not get your ass handed to you, General Kenobi,_ Anakin would say with a grin, and then afterwards would patch him up with a worried expression but slip his hand into the waistband of his pants, _Do you want me to help you feel better?_ On one memorable day after a long day Anakin had sauntered into his tent with a, _Is that a lightsaber in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?_

His lightsaber was blood red and when their sabers met they met each other for each slash. The man found an opening and kicked his foot into his abdomen, sending him spiraling slightly. That was enough time for the man to disappear, leaving behind no trace like he was never there. 

—

Ahsoka stood next to him, “Is he gonna make it?”

Obi-Wan shrugged, “I don’t know.” He never expected Mace to be taken down almost so - almost _easily._

“Tell me about the shooter.” Ahsoka practically demanded. 

“He’s fast and strong. Had a metal hand.” Obi-Wan said, recalling the way the Force practically bended to his whim and the way it enhanced his movements.”

Depa Billaba joined them. She was like Mace’s right hand. 

“Ballistics?” Ahsoka asked, watching as the doctors worked on Windu.

“Three slugs, no rifling.” Depa said, “Completely untraceable.”

“Soviet-made.” Ahsoka chimed in. 

“Yeah,” Depa mumbled, watching as Mace’s heart rate pummeled. 

“He’s in V-Tach,” Someone said from inside the room, maybe a male nurse?

“Crash cart coming in,” A female nurse said, pulling in the cart.

“Nurse help me with the drape.” The Doctor demanded.

“BP is dropping,” The male nurse chimed in.

“Defilibrator!” The Doctor yelled. Depa watched in horror as Windu started to flatline. “I want you to charge him at one hundred.”

“Oh God,” Ahsoka said under her breath. He knew that her and Mace had bumped heads, more than once but she respected him and he respected her. She was great at what she did and he was an excellent director. 

“Don’t do this to me, Mace.” Depa mumbled under her breath. 

“Stand back!” The Doctor demanded, “Three, two, one! Clear! Pulse?”

“No pulse.” Two nurses chorused. 

“Okay. 200, please. Stand back! Three, two, one. Clear!” Macw’s body thumped with the electricity of the device. “Give me epinephrine! Pulse?”

“Negative.” The male nurse said.

“Don’t do this, don't do this.” Depa repeated under her breath. The doctors continued to try to revive him but to no avail. Obi-Wan turned his back to the scene as they called time of death. 

“What’s the time?”

“1:03, Doctor.” The female nurse said.

“Time of death, 1:03am.” 

Obi-Wan looked down at the flash drive in his palm and made a fist. After they officially called time of death they let them stand there with his body. All their faces are stone cold but he can see the hesitance in Ahsoka’s eyes and the sadness in Depa’s. 

“I need to take him,” Depa said.

Ahsoka took one look at Mace before walking out of the room and Obi-Wan followed. He followed her until they stopped outside the vending machine.

“Why was Windu in your apartment?” Ahsoka asked, both interest and confusion in her eyes. Ahsoka was a spy, she could mask her emotions but her eyes told everything. 

“I don’t know.” Obi-Wan said. 

“General, they want you back at FORCE.” Pre Vizsla said, interrupting him. His partner Lorka Gedyc - Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and them went on the mission together with the pirates. 

“Yeah, give me just one moment.” Obi-Wan said, turning back to Ahsoka.

“They want you _now.”_ Pre Vizsla’s voice was demanding and Obi-Wan sighed. 

“Okay,” Obi-Wan turned to Ahsoka.

“You are a terrible liar.” Ahsoka spit. She turned around and walked off. The flash drive in his pocket felt heavier than ever. 

Lorka was talking on the comm, “STRIKE team, escort General Kenobi back to FORCE immediately for questioning.”

Vizsla said something to Gedyc that he wasn’t paying attention to. Obi-Wan’s attention got caught on the vending machine and he grinned. 

“Let’s go.” 

“Yeah, STRIKE team out.” Vizsla said. 

As they walked off the flash drive that Windu gave Obi-Wan sat behind a lot of Hubba Bubba gum. 

—

He was escorted to Palpatine’s office but Palpatine and his neighbor stood there just outside of it. Palpatine was a politician, a very high up politician that was the one who promoted Windu to director of FORCE. 

“For whatever it’s worth, you did your best.” Palpatine said to Cerasi. 

She dipped her head, “Thank you sir.” She walked out and acknowledged him, “General Kenobi.”

He felt a little angry that Windu put someone after him to watch him. Did he look like he needed a babysitter? “Neighbor.” He said cooly. He walked past her, going to shake hands with Palpatine. Something about him didn’t feel right. 

“Ah, General. I’m Sheev Palpatine.”

“Sir, it's an honor.” Palpatine had a strong grip. 

“The honor is all mine, General Kenobi. My father served once upon a time.” He led him inside of his office. He showed a picture of a much younger Windu with a younger Palpatine, “This was taken a couple year after Mace and I met, this is when I was at the State Department. Terrorists took the embassy and security led me out but they took hostages. Mace is the deputy chief of FORCE there he said he wanted to negotiate but I said no. It turned out they didn’t take kindly to that threat but Mace had ignored my order and secured the peace. He saved the life of several political officers including some of my closest friends.”

“So you gave him a promotion.” Obi-Wan said, folding his arms. His lightsaber swung on his belt and his shield felt heavy on his back. 

“I’ve never had any reasons to doubt that order. General, why was Mace in your apartment?” Palpatine turned his politician stare on him. 

“I don’t know.” Obi-Wan said, staring back at Palpatine. 

“Did you know it was bugged?” Palpatine asked. 

“I did, because Windu told me.” He said it with slight fury. Where was this going?

 _Maybe he just wants to see what gets under the great Negotiatior’s skin,_ Anakin would say with a grin. 

“Did he tell you that he was the one who bugged it?” _What the hell, Windu._ “I want to show you something.” Palpatine said and pulled up footage of one of the pirates being interrogated on his computer. 

The FORCE agent asked, “Who hired you?”

“Is that live?” Obi-Wan asked, eyes darting between the computer and the politician. 

“Are you saying he’s a suspect? Assanation really isn’t his thing.” Obi-Wan said. Something felt very, very wrong, or as Anakin _loved_ to say, _I have a bad feeling about this._ Ahsoka liked to say it too, and when she did Anakin’s and Ahsoka’s voices overlapped in his ears, echoing each other.

“No, it's a little more complicated than that, I’m afraid. Batroc,” Batroc was the main pirate, “was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star,” which was the FORCE ship they had hijacked and Obi-Wan had recovered while Ahsoka was on her own mission recovering information. He didn’t like how Windu didn’t share that with him and he didn’t share the same sentiment, “and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer, and then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech.” He picked up a file

Obi-Wan has a confused expression on his face, “Am I supposed to know who that is?”

 _These politicians,_ Anakin would drawl, _always love to drag things out, you would know that wouldn’t you? Mr. Obi-Wan “I’m too brave for politics” Kenobi._

Palpatine handed him the file and gave him a find yet fabricated looking file, “Not likely. Veech died around six years ago.” Palpatine would continue to ramble on about this until he got to the point. 

“Are you saying that Windu hires the pirates? If you know him that isn’t true.”

“Why do you think I’m asking you this? I took a seat on the Council because Mace asked me to. Doing this job - it makes enemies, a lot of enemies. Those people who call you corrupt because you make the hard choices, and the idea that those people could be happy today makes me angry, makes me angry that they killed Mace Windu.” Palpatine said, with an angry shake of his fist, “General Kenobi, you were the last one to see Mace alive, I don’t think that was an accident or a coincidence and I don’t think you think it is either.” 

“He told me not to trust anyone,” Obi-Wan admitted almost bitterly. 

“I wonder if that meant him too?” Palpatine asked. 

Obi-Wan paused before responding, “I’m sorry, those were his last words.”

“General,” Palpatine called and Obi-Wan stopped at the doorway, “Somebody murdered my friend, and I’m going to find out why. Anyone who gets in my way, will regret it. Anyone.”

 _That sounds like a threat,_ Anakin said sing-song like, _what are you going to do about it, General Kenobi?_

“Understood.” Obi-Wan said, the Force felt dirty and it swirled around him. 

—

When he got in the elevator it was almost easy to tell that they were going to kill him or capture him. Every action wasn’t really his own just the Force guiding his movements and him acting on instinct. He jumped out of the window and got out of FORCE’s base. When he got back to the hospital the flash drive was gone. He had changed into civilian clothing and tugged a good on his head. Suddenly he heard loud chewing behind him and he turned around. It was easy to distinguish Ahsoka; with her blue and white hair and her vitiligo. Suddenly he’s pushing Natasha into the room behind him maybe an office and her back slammed against the wall. 

“Where is it?” Obi-Wan snarled. Anakin called it his authority voice, and then told him if he wanted to get Anakin in the mood all he had to do was ask.

“Safe.” Was all Ahsoka said, her gum chewing was a tad obnoxious. 

“What do you mean?”

“Where did you get it? Mace, I’m guessing.” Ahsoka said, tilting her head to the side. 

“What’s on it?” His grip tightened slightly.

“I don’t know! Now let go of me.” Ahsoka said and Obi-Wan did. She sighed, “I know who killed Windu. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him Darth Vader. He's credited with over hundred assassinations in the last fifty years, and that’s just the ones they know of.”

“So he’s a ghost story?” 

Ahsoka had a pinched expression, “Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but Vader was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me.” She pulled up her shirt and there was a scar, the size of a bullet, “Bye bye bikinis, and before that I met him in the Red Room. He was there to.. condition us, train us.” She then scoffed, “More like kick our asses. He always had that stupid goggles and mask on.”

“Going after him is a dead end,” Ahsoka said, “I’ve tried, but this,” She said, holding up the flash drive, “is not.”

He felt uncomfortable pretending to be a couple with Ahsoka. It wasn’t that she was unattractive, she was, but he was in love with Anakin and everyone and everybody pales in comparison to Anakin. 

“First rule of being on the run is, walk. Act cool.” Ahsoka advised. 

He rolled her eyes, “And how many times have you been on the run?”

Ahsoka gave him a grin, “More than you think.”

They went into an Apple store and used one of the computers. Ahsoka babbled on about how it was Level Six and the mechanics of it. If Anakin was alive he’d love the technology today, he loved fixing up things back then. He even fixed some of their tanks and cars to make them more efficient and faster. When he came back he discovered that they used his invention of the engine. If Anakin was alive he’d be rich from it and it was just his luck that Anakin left him as next of kin. He had too much money to know what to do with Anakin's inventions and both their services in the military. He knew if Anakkn was alive he’d figure out to improve even the future's technology. She managed to decode the flash drive, it read _Wheaton, New Jersey._ He froze slightly, that’s where he was when he was being trained. Anakin had trained there with him, but only for a short time. Anakin had been enlisted before him. 

Ahsoka noticed his look, “You know it?”

“I used to. Let’s go.” He pulled the flash drive out of the computer. They ran into some FORCE agents (or were they SITH agents now?) and he had to kiss Ahsoka. Honestly it was a little disgusting. It felt like he was kissing his daughter or sister, it felt like he was committing a sin. When they stepped in the parking lot Obi-Wan spotted a truck. Anakin would love the cars today he loved driving fast and it made Obi-Wan’s stomach churn a bit but he loved seeing Anakin’s smile. He managed to unlock the door and he hotwired it. He pulled out of the driveway and started driving to New Jersey. He never thought he would be back there, all those memories of golden curls and blue eyes like the stars. Anakin loved looking at the stars, they’d curl up under the stars and he’d just watch Anakin with the beautiful wonder-like look on his face. 

_“I’m going to soar through the stars one day,” Anakin said._

_Obi-Wan grinned and kissed Anakin’s neck, lightly biting down. They were in a campaign and they had decided to lay outside of the tent with blankets wrapped around them. “As long as I get to join you. It’s me and you Anakin. Till the end of the line.”_

_“Always and forever.” Anakin responded back with a smile._

“Where did the Negotiator learn how to steal a car?” Ahsoka said, feet propped up on the dashboard. 

“Tatooine.” Obi-Wan said with a small smile, Tatooine was a town in the middle of nowhere and was a desert. He had met Anakin in the town when he was passing through and they were friends ever since. Anakin had shown him out to hotwire a car within a week of knowing him. 

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you genuinely smile,” Ahsoka said, “Meet a girl there, huh? Is it that Siri chick? It was said you two had something.” 

Just like that Obi-Wan’s smile faded. “Anyway I have another question and you don’t have to answer but if you do it kind of answers it. Was that your first kiss since 1945?”

He wanted to say it was actually 1944, since that’s when Anakin went down but he didn’t say anything. Their last kiss was when they were about to get on that damn train, and it was ironic how Anakin called out “I’m dead!” mockingly in response to Fives. He remembered Five’s broken face as he came back with no Anakin. “That bad, huh?”

 _You could never be bad, Master,_ Anakin would quip, _maybe you just need a little practice, but that’s what I’m here for._

“I didn’t say that.” Ahsoka said with a chuckle, “So is there no one special?”

“There’s no one to really share life experience with.” Obi-Wan said, plus all there was was Anakin, he didn’t think he could ever be with someone if all he was thinking about was Anakin. Sometimes when he was walking the streets of Washington DC he’d pass some beautiful boy with golden curls and sometimes he would swear they were Anakin. One time he even slept with one of them and tried to pretend they were Anakin, but the boy’s eyes weren’t the right shade of blue; they were too dark. He didn’t kiss the boy though, he didn’t want to kiss anyone else. He closed his eyes, Anakin’s name on his lips as he thrust into the willing body below him. It wasn’t Anakin though, it wasn’t. Anakin was dead and it was all his fault. His fault, his fault, his fault, his fault, his fault-

“Just make something up,” Ahsoka said with a shrug. 

“Oh, like you?” Obi-Wan said with a small grin. 

“Truth is a matter of circumstance,” Ahsoka said.

“Isn’t that a bit of a weird way to live and look at life?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Keeps people alive.” Ahsoka said and he felt himself agreeing with her.

—

Soon enough they pulled up to the abandoned military base. This is where the signal had led him and this is where he trained. Ahsoka looked around, “Did you train here?” She held her phone up in the air, trying to get a signal. 

“Yes, this is it.” Obi-Wan said in a whisper. He turned around and looked at the overgrown grass where he once had ran. Flashes of images appeared before him, his Sergeant yelling at the men to run faster.

“This is a dead end,” Ahsoka grumbled, “No heat signatures, zero waves or radio. Whoever wrote the file must’ve used a router to throw us off.”

He walked over to the building, pulling his shield off his back, “This building shouldn’t be here. Army regulations and all of that.” He jammed the shield through the lock and it opened. He yanked the metal doors opened. 

“This is FORCE,” Ahsoka said with awe. The desks were old and he remembered Anakin wearing that uniform, he looked so handsome and beautiful with his broad shoulders and a narrow waist. 

“Where it started,” Obi-Wan said, “It was once called JEDI.” They walked towards the back and photos hung up; there was a photo of the General, Siri, him, and Anakin. His eyes lingered over the photo of him and his mouth and his broad shoulders. 

“Who’s the guy?” She said, nodding towards the photo of Anakin. He bit his lip and remembered he had a small office here that he shared with Anakin.

“H-Hold on..” Obi-Wan stuttered out, and walked back to where the desks were. 

Ahsoka followed him, “Where the hell are we going?”

Obi-Wan found the room and his hand hovered over the doorknob before opening it. His lightsaber swayed where it was clipped to his belt. 

He opened it and flicked on the light switch. He walked into the room and Ahsoka followed him, there was two desks and they were small. They had those rickety old picture frames. Anakin’s desk was messy and untouched and dusty. He had a photo of him and his mother and another one of Obi-Wan and him when they were young or younger. Anakin was around fifteen and Obi-Wan was twenty five. Another was them and the Howling Commandos. Obi-Wan smiled, and picked up the two photo frames and pulled out the photos. They were in black and white and scuffed at the edges. He shoved them in his utility belt and Ahsoka watched him. 

“Is this the same guy that was in those photos?” Ahsoka asked, “Messy guy, huh?”

“Yeah,” Obi-Wan said with a small smile, “He always was messy.” His desk was bare of photographs, Siri had given them to him when he got out of the ice. “Come on, let’s go now.” 

Ahsoka followed with an exasperated expression, they found the secret room and it turned out to be an AI, Nala Se was alive. She was responsible for the clones and had experimented on Anakin. “You were supposed to be dead! The General promised me that you would be thrown off a plane.”

Ahsoka room a glance at him, surprised. He never was one to be aggressive. “Ah, yes.” Nala Se, “Your death amounts to nothing and so does Skywalker’s.” Obi-Wan punched the old computer, causing Ahsoka to jump slightly, but Nala just turned on another screen, “As I was saying.. FORCE let me in their ranks and let me continue my cloning program. The war taught us a lot, how to blend in and hide in the eyes of the public. The SITH became a parasite for FORCE, working on the inside out.”

“Impossible. The FORCE would’ve figured out.” Ahsoka protested. His jaw was still clenched from the mention of Skywalker. 

“What’s on this drive?” Obi-Wan demanded

“Project INSIGHT requires Insight.” That was the project that Mace was working on with the helicarriers, to provide security for the world. Obi-Wan never liked it though. “So I wrote an algorithm.”

“What’s the algorithm? What kind? What does it do?” Ahsoka demanded, her two lightsabers swinging on her as she walked. 

“The answer to your question is very fascinating indeed but you’ll be too dead to hear it.” The computer bellowed. The door started to close and Obi-Wan threw his shield but it closed and Obi-Wan caught it. 

“We got a bogey and FORCE fired it.” Ahsoka said. The computer started to ramble on but he noticed a small metal opening and threw the door aside. He took Ahsoka and carried her, jumping into the small hole and holding his shield up as the building fell around them. He knew it was stupid but he thought of that high quality photo of Anakin hanging up and his stupid, charming smile. He even thought about Anakin when the world fell around him.

—

Palpatine walked into his kitchen and noticed the man sitting at it with a mask covering his mouth. The man’s golden eyes gleamed. He had a gun on the table and he saw his lightsaber at his hip. His housekeeper called out to him but he told her to go home. He rather liked her and didn't want to kill her.

“Want some milk?” He called out to Vader teasingly. Vader just fixed him with an emotionless look, he grabbed milk out of the fridge and filled up the glass and sat across from the man, “The timetable has moved. Our window is very limited and we have to get this right. Two targets, Level Six. They already cost me Nala Se. I want confirmation of their deaths in ten hours.” He heard his housekeeper come back in and sighed, “I wish you really hadn’t done that.” He picked up the fun and turned around, firing at her ten times before she fell to the floor, glass broken behind her.

—

Obi-Wan was grateful that Cody let him into his house. He knew a little about Cody - he was in some part of the army and he was a clone. He recognized that he was a clone as soon as he saw him, after all he’d fought alongside several. He always felt sort of sympathy for the clones - Nala Se made them for SITH to be mindless drones but FORCE was supposed to shut it down, or so he thought. He was dressed in Cody’s clothes and he had managed to get some for Ahsoka too.

Obi-Wan walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed, putting on some sneakers. Ahsoka walked in and sighed, “This has been the longest day of my fucking life.” 

“Isn’t this what you do? Dismantle governments,” Obi-Wan said, the corners of his mouth tugging up. He thought of Vader, and of his eyes. He couldn’t see him that well because it was dark but.. he looked familiar somehow. The Force whispered someone to him that he couldn’t hear. 

Ahsoka smiled, “You know that's not how spies work and you know it, old man.”

Obi-Wan scoffed, “Old man? Those years in the ice _don’t_ count.”

Ahsoka raised her eyebrows, unimpressed, “I beg to differ. You are a hundred and two years old.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and was about to respond to Ahsoka’s retort but Cody knocked on the door and peeked his head in, “I made breakfast if you two.. eat that sort of thing.” He ducked his head back out of the room.

“Showtime.” Ahsoka said with a grin. 

—

It was laughably easy to get Sitwell to talk. One kick in the man’s chest from Ahsoka he was babbling. Cody lifted him up and threw him back on the roof, his wings retracting. “Nala Se’s algorithm is a program for choosing Insight’s targets!” Sitwell was babbling now, “The targets are you two! a TV anchor in Cairo, the undersecretary of Defense, a valedictorian in Kansas, Padmé Amidala, Bail Organa, Quinlan Vos, the algorithm takes out anyone who’s a threat to SITH! Here now or in the future.”

“The Future? How could it know?” Cody asked.

Sitwell laughed, “How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Nala taught SITH how to read it. Your bank record, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future.”

“What then?” Obi-Wan asked. Sitwell’s eyes widened muttering that Palpatine was going to kill him. Obi-Wan grabbed him by the collar, pulling him forward, _“What then?”_ It was laced with the Force, Sitwell had no choice but to respond.

“Then the Insight Helicarrier knocks people off their list. A few million at a time.” 

They managed to smuggle Sitwell out of the building and into Cody’s car. Ahsoka sat in the back with Sitwell. “I can’t believe I got stuck in the back with the rat,” Ahsoka grumbled. 

Sitwell gave Ahsoka a look before murmuring, “SITH doesn’t like leaks.”

“So put a cork in it.” Ahsoka snapped. “I really don’t want to hear your voice anyway. Insight is launching in sixteen hours, and we're on a clock.” 

“We’ll have to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly then.” Obi-Wan said, watching as the cars passed them on the highway. 

“What!” Sitwell practically screeched, Ahsoka scowled at him, “Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible mistake-“ There’s a big clunk on the roof and a metal hand reached through the window, breaking the glass. He yanked Sitwell out of the car and threw him into oncoming traffic. Sitwell’s screams only lasted a couple of moments before a semi ran him over. Bullet went down through the roof and Obi-Wan brushed the man off with the Force. He heard the gun clatter off the roof and the man’s hand was back in the car and yanking out his wheel. 

“What the fuck!” Ahsoka practically screeched. A car slammed into them from the side. She jumped up in the front to avoid getting hit by the car. 

“Hold on!” Obi-Wan yelled, getting out his shield and breaking the car door. They were in the edge of the highway so they actually fell off the bridge, but no cars were near them. He pulled them along with him, softening their blow. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and just in time too, to block a gunshot. Cody had picked up a gun and started fighting off the SITH agents with him. He slashed a SITH agent and noticed Vader going after Ahsoka. She had knocked off his goggles somehow. Obi-Wan took his shield off his back and threw it at the man. The man caught the shield and threw it away, igniting his blood red saber. 

Obi-Wan grew frustrated since neither one of the seemed to get the upper hand. As the man stabbed he parried. The man’s Djem So was deadly and even though Djem So was known as an aggressive form his blows weren’t aggressive. As he reached out through the Force the man felt blank, emotionless. Obi-Wan somehow got through his defenses and backhanded the man. He put his palm out flat and pushed him back, sending him clattering to the floor. 

The man’s mask that covered his mouth slipped off. He jumped back to his feet and Obi-Wan was taken aback. The Force surged through him, clearing his thoughts.. that was Anakin’s eyebrows and his mouth and his nose and his hair and his eyes.. or at least the shape of them. Anakin’s eyes definitely weren’t gold. His chest felt heavy and his throat tightened. 

“A-Anakin?” He called out. His voice broke slightly, 

Vader - _Anakin’s_ eyebrows we’re screwed in confusion, “Who the hell is Anakin?” _No, no, no- what did they do to Anakin? What happened to Anakin?_

“Anakin! Anakin it’s me!” Obi-Wan shrilled, Anakin, his Anakin, was alive and breathing. 

_Anakin and his golden hair and smile and his sharp tongue and his impulsiveness and his-_

Anakin was still trying to fight him, his red lightsaber meeting his. “Ani, darling it’s me, it’s Obi-Wan!”

Anakin’s blows faltered for a moment, long enough for Cody to swoop in with his wings and kick Anakin straight in the side, sending him flying into a car. 

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond but they were suddenly surrounded by SITH agents. His ears were ringing as he recalled Anakin - _his_ Anakin (he was alive oh god how did he live? What happened? How is he alive? Oh god what did they do to him? Should’ve looked for him, should’ve looked should’ve looked should’ve looked-)

He felt Pre Vizsla yank his hands down from where they were interlaced behind his head with Gedyc pointing a gun at his head. “Not here!” Pre Vizsla hissed at Lorka. “Not here!” And suddenly he was being yanked into a van. Ahsoka had a wound on her shoulder that had a shoddy bandage on it. Cody stares at his shoes.

Cody said it in a murmur, “Anakin.. Anakin like the one from the museum?”

Ahsoka’s head shot up, “The one from that original FORCE office?”

“Shut up.” One of the guards hissed. 

Cody sighed and it was silent before he burst out, “We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the van!”

The silent guard pulled out a shock stick, electricity coursing down it. They hold it out threateningly before jabbing it in the other guard’s abdomen. The guard yanked off their helmet, “That thing was squeezing my head.” Depa said, she turned her attention to Cody, “whose this guy?”

—

Depa brought them to this underground bunker. A man ran towards them. 

“GSW,” Obi-Wan said, “She’s lost probably around a pint.”

“Maybe two.” Cody added.

“Let me take her,” The man said, probably a Doctor then. 

“She’ll want to see this,” Depa added. Ahsoka looked at her with eyebrows narrowed but they led them to a room. Mace Windu sat in the bed.

 _Of course,_ Obi-Wan thought dryly. 

“About damn time.” Mace said. 

Ahsoka sat down in a chair nearby his bed as the doctor hooked her up to an IV and held pressure to Ahsoka’s wound. As he sat down and his adrenaline wore down his mind soared. What had SITH done to Anakin? He looked so devoid of emotion.. not at all like the Anakin he knew. He had to find Anakin, and do whatever needed to be done. He’d do whatever he needed to do to protect Anakin from SITH. Anakin might not ever be like the Anakin from before but that was okay, he was still Anakin. He’d tell Anakin about the past if he wanted or if he didn’t. He was scared of how far the SITH’s control went. Anakin didn’t have a look of recognition. 

“I got a lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver and one hell of a headache.” Mace said dryly. 

“Don’t forget your collapsed lung,” The Doctor input, before putting down the bandage he was holding pressure with. He began to stitch Ahsoka’s wound up. 

“They cut you open.” Obi-Wan said, “Your heart stopped.” 

“Tetrodotoxin B,” Mace said, shifting around in his bed. “Slows the pulse to one beat a minute, some Doctor developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him, but we found a use for it.” 

“Why all the secrecy?” Obi-Wan snapped. He was tired of the secrets. Did he know about Anakin too? And what he had.. become. “Why not just tell us?”

“Any attempt on the director of FORCE’s life had to look successful.” Depa said.

“Can’t kill you if you’re already dead.” Mace said.

—

Vader sat in the chair while the doctors worked on him. He had some injuries but he barely registered them. 

_“General Skywalker..” Nala Se said from above him, a curious look in her eyes._

_He’s holding onto railing and the man with the fire blonde hair and kind blue eyes is reaching out to him, for some reason he knows that this man will save him, but his hand slips and he’s falling, falling down down down down-_

_His eyes looked down and there was a bloody stump where his hand used to be, he sees SITH agents above him vaguely but all he can moan out is, “Obi-Wan-“ Whose Obi-Wan?_

_“The procedure has already started.” A Doctor says as they re-amputated his arm to make it cleaner. Next thing he has a metal hand with a red star on it. A Doctor comes up to him and he doesn’t recognize him so he squeezes the life out of him. (Where’s Obi-Wan?) Who is Obi-Wan?_

_“You are the new fist of the SITH.” A voice murmured to him._

_“Put him on ice.” The coldness of the chamber as he gets frozen, as if to preserve him._

Someone was messing with his hand and he wrenched it out of their grasp backhanded them so hard they went flying into the wall. He was tense and he didn’t recognize all these people around him. (But when do you? You don’t even know your own name half the time.) He saw several people in his perherpial vision hold up guns to him.

_“Ani, darling,” The man said to him as they danced in a bar. Slow music played and him and the man both had a smile on their faces._

_“How do you manage to get motor oil on your face?” The man said with a grin, his hands coming up to cup his cheek. Later he’d complain about the motor oil on his hand._

_“It’s a talent.” He responded and the man pulled him in and they-_

_“Go on! Get out of here!” The man yelled at him. They were on opposite sides of this facility and the bridge connecting them was fine. In between the two was a large fire. He could feel the flames lapping at his skin, warming him, warning him._

_“No! Not without you!” He screamed back. The Force roared around them._

_Vader was under the man and he was thrusting into Vader, “You’re my good boy, huh, doll? Yes, you are. So good for me all the time, sweetheart. I love you, Anakin.”_

Was that his name? Anakin? He thought he liked the way the man said it, but he wasn’t sure. 

“Mission report.” He can hear someone speaking but his mind isn’t registering it. He’s too busy thinking about the man with the blue lightsaber and the shield. “Mission report, now.”

When he doesn’t respond he got a strong slap, electricity sparking off his fingers and into Anakin’s cheek. 

“The man on the bridge..”

_“Anakin?” The man called out, wonder and shock on his face and a little bit of.. horror? He wouldn’t blame him. He’s a monster._

“Who was he?” Anakin asked, tilting his head up to look at Palpatine. 

“You met him earlier this week on another assignment.” Palpatine said as he pulled up a chair.

“I knew him.” Anakin said firmly. These hallucinations or whatever they were called.. he remembered the man. He remembered his smile and his fond exasperation for him.

“Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century, and I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push. But, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine, and SITH can't give the world the freedom it deserves.” Palpatine’s cool callused hand fame up to cup his cheek and it was wrong, oh so wrong, but he leaned into it. 

He closed his eyes before opening it and saying, “But I knew him.”

Electricity came off of Palpatine’s fingers and shocked his skin. He stood up and talked to the scientists. He missed the touch as soon as it was gone. 

“Prep him.” Palpatine demanded. 

“He's been out of cryo-freeze for too long.” A Doctor murmured. 

“Then wipe him and start over.” He knew this bit. He let the doctors manhandle him and lean him back in the chair. They gave him a teeth shield and he bit down on it. He doesn’t remember ever doing this part but he always recognized the pain. He tried to hold onto the fire blonde man with his kind blue eyes but it slipped between his fingers. 

—

Mace was holding a photo up of Palpatine, his face an expression of disgust, “This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues. I mean what kind of idiot says something like that?”

“We have to stop the launch,” Ahsoka said, her shoulder all fixed. Ahsoka’s leg tapped a little bit with nervous energy.

“I don’t think the Council is accepting my calls anymore.” Windu said dryly, he opened up a black case on the table next to his bed. He did it with his arm that wasn’t in a sling. The case contained three chips and they were green with the FORCE logo on it. 

“What is that?” Cody asked. 

“Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet,” Depa said, “They’ll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized.”

“We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with one of our own.” Mace explained. Obi-Wan never liked Project Insight to begin with, he’d be happy to bring it down. He knew Anakin was going to be there, and it made him nervous. 

“One or two of them won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.” Depa said, a deep look on her face. Everyone in this room would probably die if they didn’t do this, and even if they did they still might die trying.

“We have to assume every single person in those carriers are SITH. We need to get past them, insert the server blades and maybe we can salvage what’s left of FORCE..” Mace sounded slightly hopeful in that department but Obi-Wan wasn’t having it.

“We are not salvaging anything,” Obi-Wan spat with venom in his voice. “We’re not just taking down the carriers we are taking down FORCE.”

“FORCE had nothing to do with any of it.” Mace said back, but Obi-Wan wasn’t having it. FORCE had let SITH grow under their noses and in return, Anakin wasn’t even himself anymore. He had come back to a world where everything was different, the government was corrupt. They weren’t fighting for what was right but what was right for themselves.

“You gave me this mission,” Obi-Wan said bitterly, “this is how it _ends._ FORCE’s been compromised, you said so yourself. SITH grew right under your nose and no one noticed. This is how it will end.”

“Why do you think we’re meeting in this cave?” Mace snapped, “I noticed.”

“And how many paid the price before you noticed!” Obi-Wan snapped back. Anakin had paid the price to their arrogance and ignorance. 

Mace sighed and looked away, “Look, I didn’t know about Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan exhaled sharply, “He has nothing to do with this!-“

“He has everything to do with this.” Mace snapped, “He’s your best friend or _was_ your best friend, is your head clear enough to do what might have to be done?”

The thought of killing Anakin made him sick. It made him want to slit his throat and just keel over and die. So through his clenched jaw he said, “Yes, I would.”

“Oh, that’s not true.” Mace said.

“Yes it is.” Obi-Wan bit back, “And then i'd probably join him too!”

Silence engulfed the room and Obi-Wan sighed, “Even if you did know about Anakin,” The name felt weird in his tongue after not saying it for so long, “Or would that be another on your long list of secrets? FORCE. SITH. It all goes.” 

“He’s right.” Depa said suddenly, and Ahsoka nodded in agreement. 

Mace looked at Cody who shrugged him off, “Don't look at me, he’s my friend.”

“Well…” Mace drew out, “Looks like you’re calling the shots now, _General.”_

_“I came to look for you after the funeral.” Obi-Wan said as he walked into Anakin’s and his mother’s apartment, just Anakin’s now though. Obi-Wan’s suit jacket was laid over his arm and he put it on the couch. His tie was still tight around his neck, and his suspenders were exposed from where he wasn’t wearing his jacket. “I turned around and you were gone. I was going to give you a ride back here..”_

_Anakin’s suit jacket was unbuttoned and his tie was loosened. You could see the edge of his suspenders from where his suit jacket wasn’t buttoned.He took a long drag of the cigarette that sat in between his lips._

_Anakin didn’t respond. His eyes were bloodshot from crying so much. Anakin’s mom had died just a week ago, she had died from being beaten and raped to death by a nearby gang. Anakin had lived with his mom to support her, so she didn’t have to work so much. Obi-Wan’s dad, Qui-Gon, had died years earlier and Anakin had been there for him. Obi-Wan would do the same for Anakin that he had done for him. Obi-Wan kneeled in front of the armchair that Anakin sat in and took the lit cigarette out of his mouth, putting it in the ashtray._

_Obi-Wan’s cool hands came up to cup Anakin’s cheeks and he leaned into the touch, “Come on, talk to me.”_

_Anakin sighed and his eyes fluttered close, “I-It’s just like she was here one minute and the next she was just.. gone.”_

_“I know… it’s going to be hard but I’m going to be with you, alright? Every step of the way, darling.”_

_“I-I can get by on my own.. you know.” Anakin said, his voice strangled._

_“That’s the thing, doll.” Obi-Wan said, “You don’t have to, because it’s you and me till the end of the line.” One hand went down to hold Anakin’s hand._

_Anakin gave his hand a squeeze, and had a hesitant little smile on his face, like he was scared to be happy without his mom there, “Always and forever.”_

“He’s gonna be there, you know?” Cody’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. He stood next to him in the abandoned bridge. The underground bunker was in the middle of nowhere in this forest. Underneath the bridge was an old railroad that had probably been abandoned too. “I know he was your friend but.. whoever he used to be, I don’t think that’s the guy he is now. He might not be the kind you save, it’s the kind you stop.”

“I.. I don’t think I’m capable of doing that.” Obi-Wan stuttered out, and he wasn't. He’d try to save Anakin until his last dying breath but if it came to it.. he thought he’d stop Anakin. Then he’d join him. 

“Well, he might not give you a choice. Back there.. he didn’t recognize you, and I remember him from the history books and I know you two were best friends but-“

“I loved him.” Obi-Wan said, interrupting Cody, “... I love him, and not in a brotherly way like the history books and the museum said.” He stopped looking over the bridge at the abandoned railroad to look at his friend. Cody’s face had some sympathy on it but he didn’t look particularly surprised.

“Well.. he might not give you a choice to save him that’s all. I’m just saying be careful, he doesn’t remember you.”

Obi-Wan looked back over the bridge and said solemnly, “He will.”

—

It was actually relatively easy to break into FORCE’s headquarters. As the tech guy opened the door he was met with the face of the Negotiator, and he was flanked by Cody and Depa. 

“Excuse us.” Obi-Wan said and the tech stood to the side and put his hands up. The tech agents knew they had no chance to overthrow them so they didn’t try. He found the microphone used to talk over the intercom. 

“Attention all FORCE agents,” Obi-Wan said into the mic, “This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I know you’ve heard a lot of me over the past couple days and it’s probably not good. Some of you were most likely ordered to hunt me down, but I think you all deserve to know the truth. FORCE is not what we think it is, it's been taken over by SITH. Sheev Palpatine is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are SITH as well. I don’t know how many more but.. I know they’re in this building. They could be right next to you, they could be your friends or that person that’s always been nice to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot down Mace Windu and,” _and they brainwashed Anakin, oh Anakin-_ “it won't end there. If they launch those Helicarriers today, SITH will kill anyone who stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I’m asking a lot but the price to freedom always has been, and it’s a price I’m willing to pay, and if I’m the only one so be it, I’ll fight to my last breath for freedom, but I’m willing to bet I’m not.”

As he turned off the mic he looked to Depa who had a grin, “Did you write that down first or was it off the top of your head? I got to know, do you practice these in front of the mirror everyday?”

—

Cody had managed to put in two chips with his wings and get up Obi-Wan to the last Helicarrier before his wings failed. He could tell in the Force that he was safe and landed fine with only minor scraps. As he looked on to Anakin who stood in front of where he was supposed to put the chip in he froze slightly. Anakin didn’t have a mask or goggles or face paint on. He just stared at him, unblinking. His red lightsaber sat in his palm, grazing the edge of the flooring. 

“People are going to die, Ani. Innocent people, I-I can’t let that happen.” His lightsaber and shield felt heavy in his hands. “Please, don’t make me do this.” Anakin started at him, still no recognition in his eyes. 

Obi-Wan threw his shield at him which Anakin caught. Anakin let it drop to the floor and Obi-Wan ran at him, their lightsabers meeting. Sparks flew the sabers as they met each other blow for blow. Anakin’s expression was still unmoved and Obi-Wan fell into his Soresu stance. He managed to push Anakin back and Anakin reached his metal hand out and the chip came out of his pocket and into Anakin’s palm. It made Obi-Wan falter slightly but he soon switched to offensive as he pushed Anakin back. Anakin jumped back, and they continued to match each other’s blows. 

“Anakin, listen to me! I know who you are you’re-“

Anakin managed to kick Obi-Wan’s lightsaber out of his grasp. Anakin’s eyebrows raised and went to slash at Obi-Wan but at the same time his shield was back in his hand. His shield was beskar, so the lightsaber just glided off of it. The only reaction Anakin had to it was his eyebrows flew up slightly. He hit his shield hard into Anakin’s flesh hand, making his lightsaber stumble out of his hand. He hooked it out of his hand and dropped the shield, holding Anakin in a headlock. His flesh hand scrambled at Obi-Wan’s arms. He gasped a bit for air. 

“Let go of it!” The chip was still held in Anakin’s flesh hand, “Ani.. please don’t make me do this..” Anakin refused, thrashing in his hold. He closed his eyes and ignored the burning of his throat as he broke Anakin’s flesh arm and tightened his grip on his throat. He screamed out, dropping the chip and letting him fall to the floor. He grabbed the chip and inserted it into the targeting system. “Charlie locked.” He said into his com before he heard a loud bang and a sharp pain in his stomach. Suddenly he was being tackled off the railing, onto the glass flooring of the Helicarrier. He kicked Anakin off of him as Depa said into the com, “Okay, General. Get out of there.” 

“Fire now.” Obi-Wan said into his com, watching as Anakin struggled to get up. He threw a punch towards Obi-Wan who caught it. 

“But, General…”

“Do it! Do it now!” He commanded and tore off his comlink. It was just him and Anakin now. He heard the firing of the Helicarriers and the Helicarrier they were on twisted. Anakin pulled out a knife out of his boot and lunged towards him. The knife went through the top of his suit, scraping his collar but he grabbed Anakin’s hand and twisted him around and pushed him away from him. He slipped as the Helicarrier slowly started to fall apart. He tumbled, trying to catch his balance. He heard a loud noise from behind him where he had pushed Anakin. As soon as the ship started to rock he turned around and Anakin was buried under the rubble but only his metal hand. He pulled and tried to get out but his other arm was broken. Obi-Wan stumbled towards him, ignoring the pain in his face from where he’d been punched and the pain in his abdomen where he’d been stabbed. He picked up the beam that had fallen until Anakin could get out from under it. He took off the mask of his stupid costume and he said, “You know me.”

“No I don’t!” Anakin protested, anger lacing his voice.

“Anakin, you’ve known me your whole life.” Anakin’s metal fist collided with his face, he just let him hit him. If he died trying to convince Anakin who he was that’d be okay with him. At least he’d die seeing Anakin’s face and his eyes (despite the fact that they were gold) and his golden curls. “Your name is Anakin Skywalker.”

“Shut up!” He hit him again and just let him.

“I’m not going to fight you, sweetheart. Y-You’re everything.” Anakin faltered at that, his eyes shining in surprise but he pushed him down to the ground with him kneeling above him, his thighs on either side of his body. The Force was quiet but he could hear the Helicarrier creaking, about to fall apart. 

“You’re my mission.” His metal fist hits Obi-Wan’s again and again and again and again, “You’re my mission!”

“Then finish it.” Obi-Wan said weakly, “C-Cause I’m with you t-to the end of the line.” 

Something flickered in Anakin’s eyes but the glass flooring under him broke. He looked up above helplessly as he met Anakin’s blue eyes. 

—

Vader didn’t know who this man was, but there was.. something. Something in him recognized him but that wasn’t right, he only ever recognized Sidious. Vader never remembered much but he knew he had done terrible things. He knew he was fucked up and he knew he was a monster, but.. this man looked at him like he wasn’t. Like he hadn’t done terrible things and murdered more people then he’d ever remember. So he swam to the bottom of the lake and dragged the man out by the edge of his uniform. He checked the man’s pulse - slow but steady. He put his hands together and started performing CPR on the man with the fire blonde hair that had darkened with the fact that he had been drenched in water. He did three rounds of CPR and rescue breaths before the man started coughing up water and he turned him on his side so he didn’t choke on it. 

He pressed his lips together, he didn’t know what to do now. He didn’t know who he used to be or if he even was a person… but this man had called him _Anakin_ and _Ani_ and _sweetheart_. There was something in his chest that.. longed for this man, but he couldn’t be around him. He was a monster, and he was very very bad. The dark side of the Force swirled around him, murmuring to him, but he ignored it. The man’s team would find him, alive and breathing. He put his hand on the wound where he had stabbed him and the Force slowly but surely etched the wound together. He got up and left the man. Something in him was telling him to look back, that this person could help him, but he was a lost cause. Vader wasn’t good for anything - just killing. 

—

As Obi-Wan’s eyes opened he realized one of his eyes was very swollen. He remembered the feeling of Anakin’s hand slamming into that side of his face. He turned his head and saw Cody. How did he get out of the water? He remembered falling into it and the coldness of the water he embraced but anything after that was blank.

“W-Wha’ happened?” Obi-Wan murmured. His throat felt dry and Cody for a cup off of the table next to him and held out the straw to him. He gulped it down and Cody put it back to the side. 

“When they found you, you had been put by the edge of the water.” Cody said and Obi-Wan looked at him confused.

“W-Who..” Obi-Wan said, before recalling the hazy memory of Anakin’s blue eyes staring down at him. “Anakin.”

—

When Cody and Obi-Wan found Windu it was at the cemetery in front of his own grave. 

We've been data-mining SITH’s files. Looks like a lot of their agents didn't go down with the ship. I'm headed to Europe tonight, and wanted to ask if you'd come with.” Mace said, turning to face him. Obi-Wan couldn’t see his eyes because of the dark sunglasses he was sporting. 

“There’s something I got to do first.” He knew Mace expected that answer; he’d chase Anakin to the edge of the world if he had to.

“What about you?” Mace said, turning to Cody who shrugged him off.

“I’m not a spy.” Was all Cody said and Mace tipped his head in acknowledgment.

“Alright then.” They both shook Mace’s hand, “Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here.” Mace took a glance at his grave before walking off.

“I think that’s the closest I’ve ever seen him to saying thank you.” A feminine voice said. Obi-Wan turned around and met Ahsoka’s eyes. 

“Not going with him?” Obi-Wan asked with a small grin.

Ahsoka scoffed, “No way. I joined FORCE to get straight and now.. well what’s better than helping the Negotiator?”

“You would help me find him?” Obi-Wan asked, slightly surprised.

“You’re my friend, Obi-Wan.” Ahsoka said, “Plus.. I found something to help you.” She pulled out a file and it had something written on the front in Russian. He opened it and in the corner was a small photo of Anakin in his army uniform. His lips pressed together as his eyes skimmed over the file. It spoke of his transformation into Vader and there was a photo of him in cryo-freeze. 

“I just have to ask.. are you sure you want to tug on this thread, Kenobi?” Ahsoka asked.

“I have to.” Obi-Wan said. He did have to.

“Okay then,” Cody said, “When do we get started?”

—

Vader didn’t know what compelled him to go to the Smithsonian, but he walked into it with a cap pulled over his head. As he walked in the place people swarmed this place. It made him feel on edge, _make sure to know where an exit is, never know when someone will try to strike you-_

His eyes surveyed the room to make note of any threats; there weren’t. Mostly children and the grown men he could easily take if needed. He could just crush their air supply with the Force. He saw the man with the kind blue eyes - Obi-Wan? - with other men surrounding him. Including one that wore his face. His breath hitched and he walked over to another party of the exhibit.

The narrator talked while he walked up to it, “Anakin Skywalker was the only one to give his life in duty..” This person - Anakin? - the man - Obi-Wan - had called him that but he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he was Vader and he knew that Palpatine knew his words to make him blank again, but this man.. he was staring back at his own face. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ugh sis what is even going on tbh. I also didn’t get Vader as fucked up in the head as I wanted to but it’s alright. he still has those command words like Bucky has though. I wanted to make Obi-Wan sadder about Anakin but I’d never finish it if I did so this will have to do
> 
> tumblr: forever-obessed


End file.
